Mr. Leo Clancy:

As the Deputy said earlier, we would never say anything is impossible but it might be a question of whether things are advisable. The Deputy knows better than most that Labour Court recommendations can be contended on both sides. It would certainly be cumbersome to do as proposed even if it could be done. I do not want to give the Deputy an answer on whether we could do so but I can say that our priority when grant-aiding companies is always to incentivise quality job creation therein. Every time we have a proposal before us on expanding jobs and capital investment and determining where we can provide support, our question first and always concerns how we can protect the jobs and ensure their quality is as high as possible. We certainly ask all the qualitative questions, including on what is meant for employees in the long term. Many of our supports are designed this way, by their nature. For instance, our employment grant aid has five-year contingent liability from the last payment. Therefore, someone who accesses our employment grant must maintain the jobs incentivised for at least five years after the payment for the cohort in question. That is very positive, but, as the Deputy said, it is a functional requirement in terms of job expansion. We are continuously considering ways to enhance the jobs.

Much of our current work, particularly in a tight labour market, is on how we can support companies to automate and become more efficient, while also increasing the quality of what they are doing in terms of their employees' learning journey. Many of our supports, such as those for business innovation, involve major training components for the workforce, as well as the implementation of the projects. That adds to the competence and wage rates. With our intervention, wage rates are going up over time.

The Deputy can take it from me that when we have an interaction, particularly in difficult times but also in normal times, and where there is expansion, we always look towards the end that is the worker. Every time I stand up in front of my team in Enterprise Ireland, I state the purpose of the organisation is to create increasingly high-quality jobs. That is what we will continue to be laser-focused on.